US Military Involvement in Uganda Yields Mixed Results

In this April 20, 2011 file photo, U.S. Army soldiers are seen with Uganda People's Defence Force soldiers at the closing ceremony for operation ATLAS DROP 11, an annual joint aerial delivery exercise, in Soroti, Uganda. While putting few U.S.

Related Articles

KAMPALA — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be in Uganda Friday to talk with President Yoweri Museveni about regional security and American-Ugandan military cooperation.

The U.S. State Department describes Uganda as a "key U.S. partner," particularly in the fight against the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army and in Somalia.

Fighting al-Shabab

Ugandan troops make up the bulk of the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia, AMISOM - conducting operations against the militant Islamist group, al-Shabab. The United States pulled its own troops out of Somalia in 1993 after 18 American soldiers were killed. But U.S. Embassy spokesman Dan Travis in Kampala says America has been helping finance the Ugandan operation in Somalia for years.

"We’ve supported that effort since 2007, by providing funding for training, equipment, transportation and to sustain Ugandan and Burundian forces serving with AMISOM [the U.N. peacekeeping force in Somalia]," he said.

US military involvement

American military involvement in the region dates back much longer than that. During the Clinton administration, the African Crisis Response Initiative was set up to train the militaries of certain African countries, including Uganda. And, more recently, the United States has provided logistical support and military trainers in Uganda’s war against Joseph Kony and his rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

Travis says military cooperation between the two countries has been beneficial to both.

"Uganda is one of America’s key partners in Africa and has established itself as a leader advancing efforts to resolve conflicts throughout the region," he said. "Countering violent extremism, especially organizations like the Lord’s Resistance Army or al-Shabab, is vital to a stable, secure and prosperous future for Uganda as well as the African continent."

Lord’s Resistance Army

The LRA terrorized northern Uganda for two decades and has now moved into neighboring countries. But according to Paul Omach, professor of security studies at Kampala’s Makerere University, defeating the LRA - which is estimated to be several hundred militants strong - is not the main reason why the United States is involved. Omach says the Islamist government of Sudan has been accused of supporting the LRA, which makes Joseph Kony and the LRA part of the global war on terror.

"Kony is a proxy in a bigger war," said Omach. "The bigger war is with international terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism and all that. And, for a long time, accusing fingers had been pointed at Sudan. That accusation still keeps on coming up."

Museveni - a valuable partner

Omach says one of the main reasons the United States has chosen Uganda as a military ally is because of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. The professor says his personal control over the army, as well as his willingness to use his soldiers, make him a valuable partner.

"Museveni is one who is ready," he said. "He looks at himself as a revolutionary. He has actually said these things - 'We are revolutionary, we are going to change the region.' He takes the risk. But you see, he also doesn’t have these democratic encumbrances when the body bags start coming."

Ugandans are taking note of the losses. In 2010, Somali suicide bombers killed 74 people in Kampala watching a broadcast of the final match of the soccer World Cup. Al-Shabab claimed the attack was retaliation for Uganda’s involvement in Somalia.

Popular reluctance

For many Ugandans, the war in Somalia has not been worth the cost.

“I think it’s hurting Uganda," says a woman in Kampala. "Al-Shabab has tried to hit us so many times. They hit us after the World Cup, about 80 people died. Why should we have so many of our soldiers out in Somalia? I really don’t see what we are gaining from that war."

Omach says U.S. military assistance has strengthened the Ugandan army, making it more capable of defending the country. But, he adds, such capacity building has an opposite side as well.

"The paradox of external military assistance in authoritarian states is that it ends up supporting authoritarianism, either intentionally or unintentionally," he said. "The countries with military means at hand will always use military means to resolve political disputes, even at home. So that is possibly one of the unfortunate impacts of the U.S. military involvement. I think it has given the government and Museveni’s leadership a lease on life."

Ugandans may prefer to focus on domestic issues, but the hunt for Kony continues and al-Shabab - though weakened - remains a threat in this part of Africa. Hillary Clinton’s decision to visit Uganda is being seen as a sign that the United States intends to stay involved in this volatile region for the foreseeable future.

Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

Video

Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

Video

Fifty years ago, lawmakers approved, and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed, the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The measure outlawed racial discrimination in voting, giving millions of blacks in many parts of the southern United States federal enforcement of the right to vote. Correspondent Chris Simkins introduces us to some civil rights leaders who were on the front lines in the struggle for voting rights.

Video

Billions of dollars of so-called ‘dirty money’ from the proceeds of crime - especially from Russia - are being laundered through the London property market, according to anti-corruption activists. As Henry Ridgwell reports from the British capital, the government has pledged to crack down on the practice.

Video

Ottawa, Illinois, is the hometown of W.D. Boyce, who founded the Boy Scouts of America in 1910. In Ottawa, where Scouting remains an important part of the legacy of the community, the end of the organization's ban on openly gay adult leaders was seen as inevitable. VOA's Kane Farabaugh reports.

Video

Artificial limbs, including the most complex of them – the human hand – are getting more life-like and useful due to constant advances in tiny hydraulic, pneumatic and electric motors called actuators. But now, as VOA’s George Putic reports, scientists in Germany say the future of the prosthetic hand may lie not in motors but in wires that can ‘remember’ their shape.

Video

A British pro-democracy group has accused Russia of abusing the global law enforcement agency Interpol by requesting the arrest and extradition of political opponents. A new report by the group notes such requests can mean the accused are unable to travel and are often unable to open bank accounts. VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports.

Video

Talks on a major new trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations are said to be nearing completion in Hawaii. Some trade experts say the "positive atmosphere" at the discussions could mean a deal is within reach, but there is still hard bargaining to be done over many issues and products, including U.S. drugs and Japanese rice. VOA's Jim Randle reports.

Video

Earth is in the midst of its sixth mass extinction. The last such event was caused by an asteroid 66 million years ago. It killed off the dinosaurs and practically everything else. So scientists are in a race against time to classify the estimated 11 million species alive today. So far only 2 million are described by science, and researchers are worried many will disappear before they even have a name. VOA’s Rosanne Skirble reports.

Video

Scientists have long been trying to develop an effective protection and cure for malaria - one of the deadliest diseases that affects people in tropical areas, especially children. As the World Health Organization announces plans to begin clinical trials of a promising new vaccine, scientists in South Africa report that they too are at an important threshold. George Putic reports, they are testing a compound that could be a single-dose cure for malaria.

Video

The latest issue of 'New York' magazine features 35 women who say they were drugged and raped by film and television celebrity Bill Cosby. The women are aged from 44 to 80 and come from different walks of life and races. The magazine interviewed each of them separately, but Zlatica Hoke reports their stories are similar.

Video

The United States is promising not to give up its fight against what Secretary of State John Kerry calls the “scourge” of modern slavery. Officials released the country’s annual human trafficking report Monday – a report that’s being met with some criticism. VOA’s National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin has more from the State Department.

Video

Abandoned more than 50 years ago, the underground streetcar station in Washington D.C.’s historic DuPont Circle district is about to be reborn. The plan calls for turning the spacious underground platforms - once meant to be a transportation hub, - into a unique space for art exhibitions, presentations, concerts and even a film set. Roman Mamonov has more from beneath the streets of the U.S. capital. Joy Wagner narrates his report.

Video

Greece has replaced Italy as the main gateway for migrants into Europe, with more than 100,000 arrivals in the first six months of 2015. Many want to move further into Europe and escape Greece’s economic crisis, but they face widespread dangers on the journey overland through the Balkans. VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports.

Video

After the closure of a major rubbish dump a week ago, the streets of Beirut are filling up with trash. Having failed to draw up a plan B, politicians are struggling to deal with the problem. John Owens has more for VOA from Beirut.

Video

A U.N. climate conference in December aims to produce an ambitious agreement to fight heat-trapping greenhouse gases. But many local governments are not waiting, and have drafted their own climate action plans. That’s the case with Paris — which is getting special attention, since it’s hosting the climate summit. Lisa Bryant takes a look for VOA at the transformation of the French capital into an eco-city.